130 – The banquet table is set (3)
The lion’s room in the imperial palace.
This is a room that symbolizes the majesty of an empire as powerful as a lion, as well as a banquet room used by the emperor to gather military affairs ministers and generals to discuss the next war.
Lion statues carved from marble and various swords and armor were placed throughout the room, and various foods and various precious drinks were prepared on the table in the center for the banquet.
However, in this room there were only officers of our brigade’s warrant officer level or higher, and there was not a single officer or soldier lower than a captain.
If I say this, it means that they will not be able to participate in the banquet hosted by the Emperor, and it may be misunderstood that Your Majesty lied.
Even if it was a banquet prepared by the emperor himself, there was bound to be discrimination in the banquet hall, the food, furniture, and atmosphere provided there, depending on each person’s class and status.
So, by now, the junior officers, soldiers, and non-commissioned officers will be enjoying a banquet prepared by the imperial family at their designated places.
“Lieutenant Colonel Werner, are you really going to be promoted to colonel this time? Then, wouldn’t you be able to rise to the level of envy of truly high-ranking nobles?”
“Oh, is colonel a rank that can be achieved so easily? And Colonel Vaughn is only 40 years old. Compared to the fact that wealthy nobles who graduated from the academy are living off the ranks of majors at the age of 40, they have achieved enough success.”
“Then senior battalion commander, do you have any greed?”
“Hey, this person. That’s harsh! “By the time Brigadier General Jaeger gets four stars, won’t I also get one star?”
According to custom, we cannot even touch food or drink until His Majesty the Emperor, who will soon appear from there and speak of his praise.
Lieutenant Colonel Werner is already intoxicated with the atmosphere and his mouth has become lighter.
Ha… Anyway, although this is a place to be celebrated and rewarded, I think I will also be punished. What kind of punishment will you receive?
I will not be subject to disciplinary action that will interfere with my military life in the future.
I feel a little anxious thinking about what kind of punishment I will receive.
As I was thinking about it, the door opened and the sound of a trumpet was heard.
“Your Majesty, Emperor of the Reich Empire, is eating this! “Everyone, please show respect!”
At those words, the officers who had been talking loudly all turned toward the door, knelt on one knee, and bowed their heads to show respect.
Then, the emperor entered the lion’s room and spoke in a solemn and solemn voice.
“Everyone, lift your head up.”
When I looked up at those words, I realized that the emperor was expressing his respect for us, who had made the greatest contribution in this expedition.
It was not the purple cloak and pure gold crown-like robes that I remembered seeing a few times, but rather full-body armor decorated with gold, a sword, and a pure gold baton.
Compared to me, who still retains the memories of a modern man and has relatively little respect for the emperor, among the officers around me, who think the emperor is a messenger from God, a guy who looks like he’s about to cry has already appeared.
In particular, Werner was already so moved that his eyes filled with tears and he was clenching his teeth for fear of crying out loud.
The emperor smiled brightly and said, as if he was very happy to be welcomed like this.
“Thank you, my knights, for fighting so proudly and honorably this time. “I am more than happy to have knights like you.”
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There are infantry officers here who are not part of the knight unit, and there are also people like me who have the title of knight or higher.
Even if you do not have a title, it is customary to treat a person as a knight if he or she becomes a major or higher, and all nobles, whether barons or dukes, are knights, so that statement is not wrong.
Furthermore, the fact that the emperor appeared wearing armor meant that he came not as the ruler of the empire, but as the leader of all the soldiers of the empire and the leader of the knights.
Then, as a sign that he would not talk at length any longer, the Emperor sent a signal to His Excellency the Grand Chief, who had followed him, to quickly announce the prize for meritorious work.
His Excellency the Grand Marshal personally unfolded the scroll and shouted.
“Then, from now on, we will announce the awards for the 12th Brigade that played an active role in the Eastern Expeditionary Force. First, to Brigadier General Peter Yeager, Brigadier General of the 12th Brigade!”
With those words, on behalf of everyone, I went to a position about two steps in front of the Emperor and knelt down on one knee, and the Grand Chamberlain began to read in a loud voice.
“He single-handedly established the basis for a war operation against the French Republic, and led his unit of about 4,000 men in the Forest of Hattin to block and annihilate a large army of over 10,000 people to ensure the success of the operation. Later, in the Battle of the Plains of Crecy, he personally captured the commander-in-chief, and during the peace negotiations, he assisted General Benner, the plenipotentiary negotiator, and proceeded with the negotiations in the Empire’s favor. His accomplishments are indescribable.”
After saying that and reading the edict next to me, he took a breath and declared in a louder voice than before.
“Accordingly, I, Fernando von Reich, as Emperor of the Empire, wish to repay Brigadier General Jaeger for his bravery and loyalty to the Empire. Therefore, Brigadier General Jaeger is promoted to the first rank and appointed major general.”
At the same time, the emperor lifted up the insignia with two stars that was placed on a cushion carefully held by an attendant next to him.
He took off my shoulder epaulettes and personally attached two rank insignia.
In the future, there will still be rewards and fiefdoms for playing an active role in this war, and further punishment for beheading the idiot baron to death.
I thought that no matter what happened, it would be less impressive than what I am feeling right now.
That’s because I have now become a division commander with the power to move mountains just by showing signs of discomfort, something every Korean officer dreams of.
“No matter how lacking, I will sacrifice my body and soul to be loyal to the empire.”
Hearing those words, the emperor said with a slightly puzzled expression.
“What you are doing now is enough, so from now on, work while caring for yourself. Because the collection is a treasure of the empire.”
Then the Grand Chamberlain continued his speech.
“In addition to promotion to the first rank, the city of Strasbourg and its surroundings were granted as territory to reward Brigadier General Jaeger for his contributions, and the reward was concluded with a reward of 10,000 gold and a sword and shield with the royal family emblem engraved on it. Would.”
2-Star Major General In other words, I thought until now that I would never feel more emotion than the emotion I felt when I was appointed division commander.
I could not help but be astonished by the warm grace of His Majesty the Emperor, who always defies expectations with good intentions.
That’s right, even though Strasbourg’s surrounding fields have been devastated by the imperial army’s devastation campaign.
It is a commercial city with 30,000 people living within the castle alone and about 70,000 people including the surrounding area, and including the surrounding territory…
It is a large place where more than 100,000 people live, and it is famous in the Republic as a land like Altoran.
Thanks to this, if we combine the territories we have received so far and the newly received Strasbourg, we now have a level of economic power that is unrivaled even among the nobles who are considered prestigious families of the empire.
Of course, the territory I contributed to the empire is much larger, but I can’t believe you gave me this much.
Thanks to you, I really won’t have to worry about money in the future.
While I was so deeply moved, the Grand Chief once again declared in a stern voice.
“However, even though it was clear that Brigadier General Jaeger had attempted to rape a girl from the village of François during the war, it was somewhat bloodless of him to summarily punish him on the spot rather than hand him over to a military court for further proceedings as he was the head of the baron family. It can be said to be a cold action. Therefore, to guard against this, we have declared a one-month suspension and are prohibited from going outside the capital or attending official duties during this time. “I hope you will reflect deeply.”
Even though he said so, from the grand chieftain reading the edict to his majesty, he did not show any sign of reflection.
It looks like he just gave me a warm smile telling me to rest comfortably in commemoration of my promotion.
It seems to mean that since you can do anything except official matters related to the military, you can play comfortably for a month without any interference.
“This concludes the award to Brigadier General Peter Yeager. Then, next time, Lt. Col. Laura von Wehner….”
In that way, His Excellency the Grand Marshal and His Majesty the Emperor could have rewarded only me, the Brigadier General, and left.
He had another promulgator read all the way to the end, including the sermons of the minor majors here, and the emperor himself patted the shoulders and even gave personal encouragement to the officers who performed exceptionally well.
And of course, Laura and Major Anastasia, or even Lieutenant Colonel, were there.
And when the emperor and his companions all left and we were the only ones left.
Lieutenant Colonel Werner poured strong wine into a glass, held it high in the sky, and shouted.
“A toast to His Majesty the Emperor, the Reich Empire, and Director Jaeger!”